This surprising Deep South town is shedding its gritty past.

Take a hare-raising bike ride along the GHS Swamp Rabbit Trail.
There are 33 Greenville’s in America, give or take, but the one in South Carolina has far and away received the most media attention of late, having been plagued by those creepy clown weirdos last year.

But so far in 2017, it seems they’ve filed back into their clown car and moved the circus elsewhere, leaving Greenville footloose and squeaky red nose-free, unencumbered to resume what it’s been doing so well these past few years: gentrifying.

Lift your spirits at the Dark Corner Distillery.
Yes, not even the Deep South is immune to gentrification. And Greenville’s done an exhaustive job dolling up its north/south-split main drag with boutique shops, exotic eateries, craft beer bars, performance spaces, a no-joke distillery, a Segway livery stable — all magically preventing the town’s official (and easily derisible) tourism tagline “yeahthatgreenville” from skewing sarcastic.

It’s the Greenville to end all Greenvilles — which is an amazing feat, considering not more than a decade ago its streets were too dangerous to walk at night.
So walk already!

Baseball fans, get thee to Fluor Field where a Boston Red Sox minors team plays, the fightin’ Drive! (Green Monster replica included.)

Aesthetes, keep an eye out for the public art that sits sentry over the strip “Orbital Trio” up the north end, “Nexus of Light” down south).
And should summer ever returns to the land, so too will the popular TD Saturday Market.

That’s just an itsy-bitsy taste of Main Street; hop on the free trolley that serves its clean, curbed breadth to discover the rest.

Are crêpes the new grits? To find out, rent a bike from Reedy Rides on McBee Avenue and pedal the 21-mile GHS Swamp Rabbit Trail (in case you forgot you’re in the South) to Traveler’s Rest, where a couldn’t-be-nicer couple, Brad and Kristen Hartman, sure hope so. He formerly in the Air Force, she an erstwhile nurse, the two were reborn in 2014 as restaurateurs, serving up the Gallic pancakes at Tandem Creperie.

If bikes and crêpes are a little too lazy Parisian afternoon for your liking, engage in the inevitable BBQ Trail Tour with John Nolan. He’ll take you to three candidates outside of downtown for what he calls “100-mile drive” barbecue, meaning it’s worth driving that distance to eat. The most interesting is the third and final stop, Bucky’s BBQ, as it’s run by an evangelizing chap named Wayne Preston, who at one time was a millionaire, lost it all, then got it back through a series of self-described “miracles.” What he doesn’t delve into is how exactly he lost it all to begin with — I’d drive a 100 miles to hear that story.

Moo-sey on over to American Grocery for (try not to think about it while you eat it) cow tongue.
For dinner there’s the jumping American Grocery on, you guessed it, Main Street, where chef Joe Clarke adds a funky touch to traditional Southern cookin’ that he picked up while living in La La Land for a dozen years.

MUST STAY

While its W XYZ bar sits impudently on the fourth floor instead of the lobby like it oughta, the hip Aloft Greenville Downtown is conveniently right in the middle of things at the corner of Laurens and Washington streets, a block away from Main Street (from $116).

WHAT’S NEW

Falls Park on the Reedy River is home to a 345-foot curved bridge held in the air by a single suspension cable — the only such bridge in the country. Greenvillians know it as Liberty.

The Grand Bohemian Hotel (you’ll find and like one in Asheville, NC, across the border) announced to the universe it will soon break ground in downtown Greenville overlooking Falls Park, the sexiest piece of real estate in town, many locals maintain.

Over on the chow front, the boom that saw almost three-dozen restaurants open last year continues. Sean Brock is opening a Husk Restaurant in the next 12 months, while almost two dozen other restaurants are slated to open in 2017. None is more anticipated than Jianna, a mod-Italian resto under the aegis of executive chef Michael Kramer, who opened McCrady’s in Charleston and Voice in Houston.

But most importantly, six new breweries have opened or are nearly there, adding to the five existing local craft brew ops in town.

FYI, Greenville will host first and second rounds of March Madness (men’s) this year at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The NCAA relocated the games from North Carolina after the Tar Heel State passed its controversial “bathroom bill” last March. Whoops.

Nick Carlson

Vice President/Broker

One of the first things that new clients notice upon meeting Nick Carlson is what a genuinely nice guy he is. His personality shines through and you immediately know that this is a man you want to work with. He is passionate about his work and highly energetic, and the client is always his first priority. Nick is a skillful realtor with meticulous attention to detail and a true gift for keeping his finger on the pulse of the ever-changing real estate scene in Greenville, making him his client’s most trusted advisor.

“Our skyline has changed, our community has changed, and the real estate industry has changed dramatically over the last few years. So, to be successful, it’s only natural that the way we sell real estate has changed,” says Carlson.

The trust and respect he has built with his clients, along with the dedication to his work has earned him not only a long list of satisfied buyers and sellers, but also a large group of new friends. Once you deal with Nick, you feel like you have made a friend for life. Simply stated, Nick is the perfect conduit between buyer and seller.

As co-owner and Vice President of Wilson Associates, Carlson has proven himself time and again to be a true professional with a high sense of integrity, working alongside Sharon Wilson to create the finest luxury real estate company in the Upstate. It is the honesty and integrity that shines through in all of his and Sharon’s relationships.

The Greater Greenville Association of Realtors ranked Wilson Associates Real Estate among the Top Ten Real Estate companies based on sales for the past two years, and in 2013, Nick was honored by receiving the distinguished International President’s Circle Award. The honor is bestowed on the top four percent of approximately 90,000 sales associates worldwide in the Coldwell Banker system. He was also a recipient of the same prestigious award in both 2011 and 2012. In 2010, he became a member of the Coldwell Banker Diamond Society, and he was voted Best of the Upstate/Realtor of the Year in 2011.

Selling and purchasing a home is one of the most important decisions you can make. Nick’s goal is to exceed your expectations and to provide you with service above and beyond what is expected.

Nick Carlson

Vice President/Broker

One of the first things that new clients notice upon meeting Nick Carlson is what a genuinely nice guy he is. His personality shines through and you immediately know that this is a man you want to work with. He is passionate about his work and highly energetic, and the client is always his first priority. Nick is a skillful realtor with meticulous attention to detail and a true gift for keeping his finger on the pulse of the ever-changing real estate scene in Greenville, making him his client’s most trusted advisor.

“Our skyline has changed, our community has changed, and the real estate industry has changed dramatically over the last few years. So, to be successful, it’s only natural that the way we sell real estate has changed,” says Carlson.

The trust and respect he has built with his clients, along with the dedication to his work has earned him not only a long list of satisfied buyers and sellers, but also a large group of new friends. Once you deal with Nick, you feel like you have made a friend for life. Simply stated, Nick is the perfect conduit between buyer and seller.

As co-owner and Vice President of Wilson Associates, Carlson has proven himself time and again to be a true professional with a high sense of integrity, working alongside Sharon Wilson to create the finest luxury real estate company in the Upstate. It is the honesty and integrity that shines through in all of his and Sharon’s relationships.

The Greater Greenville Association of Realtors ranked Wilson Associates Real Estate among the Top Ten Real Estate companies based on sales for the past two years, and in 2013, Nick was honored by receiving the distinguished International President’s Circle Award. The honor is bestowed on the top four percent of approximately 90,000 sales associates worldwide in the Coldwell Banker system. He was also a recipient of the same prestigious award in both 2011 and 2012. In 2010, he became a member of the Coldwell Banker Diamond Society, and he was voted Best of the Upstate/Realtor of the Year in 2011.

Selling and purchasing a home is one of the most important decisions you can make. Nick’s goal is to exceed your expectations and to provide you with service above and beyond what is expected.

Sharon Wilson

President/Broker In Charge

Sharon Wilson is the living definition of courage and determination in the luxury real estate world. Possessing a dauntless tenacity blended with natural charm and the innate ability to produce consistently excellent results for her clients. She is easily approachable and a truly gracious person. Wilson’s sense of discretion and decorum help to create the ideal environment for abundantly satisfying real estate transactions. After decades of stellar performance at Coldwell Banker, she gathered her expertise and experience and launched Wilson Associates Real Estate in 2014. Her full-service brokerage offers unprecedented marketing skills that position each home in its most appealing light, garnering the most successful outcome. Her agents work alongside the buyer and seller every step of the way with the most up-to-date information and marketing strategies available. Under Sharon Wilson’s leadership, Wilson Associates Real Estate has the highest sales production of all the non-franchised companies in Greenville MLS.

You can expect no less than the best from Wilson. Her expectations and goals are set very high, making the results the best one could hope for - top of the line Real Estate sales. Sharon has consistently ranked in the Top Ten Agents in Greenville. With Coldwell Banker, she was ranked number one in South Carolina as well as in the Top Ten in the Southeast Division. Wilson’s average sale price is consistently one of the highest in the Greenville Board of Realtors, and she is a member of “Who’s Who In Luxury Real Estate.” Sharon enjoys giving back and contributing to her community. She is a benefactor to The Antiques, Fine Art & Design of Greenville County Museum of Art and a member of The Junior League of Greenville. She is a donor to The Peace Center for the Performing Arts and a former Board Members of Project Host and the CC Pearce Community Culinary School. She was also a founding Board Member for the McCall Hospice House in Simpsonville, SC. Sharon and the company are focused on taking the best of our past and giving Greenville a new promise. Wilson Associates Real Estate- Just Very Good Real Estate.

Sharon Wilson

President/Broker In Charge

Sharon Wilson is the living definition of courage and determination in the luxury real estate world. Possessing a dauntless tenacity blended with natural charm and the innate ability to produce consistently excellent results for her clients. She is easily approachable and a truly gracious person. Wilson’s sense of discretion and decorum help to create the ideal environment for abundantly satisfying real estate transactions. After decades of stellar performance at Coldwell Banker, she gathered her expertise and experience and launched Wilson Associates Real Estate in 2014. Her full-service brokerage offers unprecedented marketing skills that position each home in its most appealing light, garnering the most successful outcome. Her agents work alongside the buyer and seller every step of the way with the most up-to-date information and marketing strategies available. Under Sharon Wilson’s leadership, Wilson Associates Real Estate has the highest sales production of all the non-franchised companies in Greenville MLS.

You can expect no less than the best from Wilson. Her expectations and goals are set very high, making the results the best one could hope for - top of the line Real Estate sales. Sharon has consistently ranked in the Top Ten Agents in Greenville. With Coldwell Banker, she was ranked number one in South Carolina as well as in the Top Ten in the Southeast Division. Wilson’s average sale price is consistently one of the highest in the Greenville Board of Realtors, and she is a member of “Who’s Who In Luxury Real Estate.” Sharon enjoys giving back and contributing to her community. She is a benefactor to The Antiques, Fine Art & Design of Greenville County Museum of Art and a member of The Junior League of Greenville. She is a donor to The Peace Center for the Performing Arts and a former Board Members of Project Host and the CC Pearce Community Culinary School. She was also a founding Board Member for the McCall Hospice House in Simpsonville, SC. Sharon and the company are focused on taking the best of our past and giving Greenville a new promise. Wilson Associates Real Estate- Just Very Good Real Estate.